A Cast of Stones (The Staff and the Sword, Book 1) by Patrick W. Carr

I don't know about you but I am always a little nervous when I try a new author. And maybe even a little more so when I step in the fantasy realm. Fantasy, at least to me, can be done in such a way that it is so fantastic, carrying deeper truths and revealing things to the reader on several levels. However, fantasy can also be done wrong, maybe grossly entertaining but not redeeming. I say all this to let you know that this fantasy novel is of the first kind.

Honestly, in the beginning it moved rather slow. And our hero, seemed anything but a hero at all. His faults were endless and many times I wanted to shake him. There was even a point where I thought do I want to read this any further? Will there be something redeeming in this? This initial part of the story however, is important and lays the ground work for something fantastic! And if you love a good redemption/transformation story this is one not to be missed! From the point our hero reached his crossroads, this story transformed and you could not have pried it from my grasp. I could not help but eagerly devour page after page, and when I had to lay it down, my mind was still thinking upon it and so ready to return!

Carr writes imaginatively and symbolically; mystery and suspense are his friends and his characters breath life. Open up this novel, give it a chance and watch it bloom. It will be worth the risk, and you will find yourself like me edgy and eager to start Book 2!



Book Description:
An Epic Medieval Saga Fantasy Readers Will Love 

In the backwater village of Callowford, Errol Stone's search for a drink is interrupted by a church messenger who arrives with urgent missives for the hermit priest in the hills. Desperate for coin, Errol volunteers to deliver them but soon finds himself hunted by deadly assassins. Forced to flee with the priest and a small band of travelers, Errol soon learns he's joined a quest that could change the fate of his kingdom.

Protected for millennia by the heirs of the first king, the kingdom's dynasty is near an end and a new king must be selected. As tension and danger mount, Errol must leave behind his drunkenness and grief, learn to fight, and come to know his God in order to survive a journey to discover his destiny.